Thursday, December 1, 2011

Chance Encounter

So I went to get my photo taken for winning the NCO of the month board, and had one of those encounters that you don't expect to happen. I walked in and was greeted by the civilian working at the front counter. "You must be our 830." Yes I am . Please come sign in. I go to the front counter, and get the clipboard with my right hand, as I always do, and got the strangest reply. "Blessed Be". Now when I say strange, I mean that in the sense that I don't usually hear that when I'm in uniform, and definitely not when I'm on post. So turns out that her and at least an MP buddy of hers have been talking to the chaplain about getting a circle started, and hes all for it. Well what do you know, I just happen to have the paper work to get sponsored as a DFGL. What are the chances that this would happen. Ended up having a nice little chat with her before I had to leave to head back to work, and gave her my contact information, so hopefully, there will be a circle coming to Heidelberg soon.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Accomplished

Feeling very good about myself today. First, a little back story. I went to the promotion board last Monday, and bombed it. Luckily, they were nice enough to just let me go back in December. So, because of how I did at the mock board, I was told that I would be the alternate for the NCO of the Month board. Turns out, I would in fact have to go.. That day was today. Im not gonna lie, I was still really nervous. So much so, that while I knew the NCO Creed almost perfectly last week, I kept stumbling on my words today. I think that part of it might have been the fact that my NCOIC ended up having to supervise me. Well long story short, I ended up winning. So what does that mean, well not much in the grand scheme of it all. Pretty much the recognition. Plus know I know that come next month, I will be good to go for the Promotion Board, and finally have that last step done to get promoted to Staff Sergeant

Monday, November 14, 2011

Coming out out of the Broom Closet More

So in my attempt to be more open with my spirituality, I am considering making a couple of videos to post on You Tube. Lately, I have gotten the bug to create a "travel" book of shadows, that has quickly taken on a mind of its own. Once I get to start working on it, it is hard to stop. I really like the way it is going and the shape that it has taken. Due to this, I have been watching videos of other peoples on You Tube, and was thinking about starting with a video on my altar and my "witchy" things that I have collected, and how my profession plays into my beliefs. In doing these videos, I would do a seperate on on just my books of shadows. Just showing kind of what I started with, and what my binders have become, and what I have now in my to smaller books. I am also looking at getting another small journal similar to what I am currently working on to use just for my Tarot. Include a page for each card, as well as spreads, and actual readings that I perform. Like I said, things are taking on a mind of there own and demanding my attention... Like other things in my life.
Thursday I will be going to the NCO of the Month board to prepare to go to the promotion board (again) in December. So having to find time to study for that, keep up with my classes (dont ask how thats going), as well as making sure mission gets done at work. Oh yeah, we are down to only three people in the section this week, so short staffed, big mission to accomplish, and I am essentially off the road for 2 days, not counting today. Oh yeah a PT test on Wednesday and its gonna be F-ing cold out. It was 34 degrees this morning when they were taking it. Hopefully it will be just a few degrees warmer, but I doubt it. Busy, Busy Busy as always.

Blessed Be!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Busy times ahead

So things are slowly starting to get busier. I officially got the NCOIC position at work, which means more responsibility but less pay... for now. I will be going to the promotion board on the 7th of November. I am trying to get promoted in December so I need to have all the points I can by then. That means working mindlessly on coorespondence courses. I was almost maxed out, until they decided to change the points system again.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Moving Up

So things are really starting to get crazy around here. My third class has started, I'm trying to keep up with the first two, and I have to get ready for the promotion board on the 7th of November. Also, along with everything else, I have not officially been given the NCOIC position at work, I pretty much have the job, which means more responsibility, and more to have to worry about. Of course, I don't mind, its all for the better. While I am really hoping to make points before the beginning of the year, I'm not sure if that will be possible. While I am doing everything I can to help, I'm not sure how many of my classes will count, so I don know how many points I actually have. Guess I will just have to keep an eye on the points for this month, and get a feel for what the trend will be for the next couple of months. Then to make things even harder, they are changing the point system again, so all the work I am doing on correspondence courses may not matter any more in January. Guess that means I better get on getting into more actual classes to get the points that I need. Wish me luck.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Be in Charge

OK, so I have to get this off of my chest. If you are gonna be in charge.. BE IN CHARGE. Lets say that you are in charge, and will be gone for some reason, and someone will be filling in for you. DO NOT tell this person to do something, that you yourself do not do. I am in this situation myself. I will be in charge of my section starting on Thursday when my NCOIC is on leave. He has made it perfectly clear on numerous occasions, that when I am NCOIC, that it is expected that I will still go out on mission. I have not issue with that. What I have an issue with, is the fact that he doesn't "practice what he preaches." It is almost the end of the month, and mission is still not finished. He has done a grand total of 3 inspections this whole month. And to top it off, we tried to get him to go to 1 site today, and he said he will do it on Wednesday. All I can say is that he better.... OK enough of my bitching. I feel better now!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Been a while.

I know, I know.. its been a while, but things have gotten really busy lately. I finally got enrolled in school hopefully for the last time to finally get my Bachelors. I am going to Eastern Illinois University with my major being General Studies. I know, I know cant do much with that degree, but at this point, its just time that I get the damn thing. When I finally retire, I can always go back and get my Teaching Certifications.
Along with having to get school work done, I just graduated from WLC on Friday. That was a long 19 days, but worth it. That means that I can finally go to the board for E-6. While it seemed like it was a long time, it was actually nice to get back to the basics of being a Soldier again.
And to top it off, I just realized that Alex's birthday is in a month. Hard to believe that he is going to be 4! Where has the time gone. I still remember when all he did was sleep, and now it takes all our power to get him to go to sleep.
Also working on possibly getting some things for the equinox coming up in a couple of days. If not for that then for Samhein which again is next month.
As always, seems like there is so much to do, and not enough time to do it. Oh well, such is the life of being a grown up LOL

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Why?

Why do I do this, and why am I here on the online community. I feel like I have come to a point in my life where I am ready and able to help others in some way. Wether it is someone looking for the "right" spiritual path for them, some things that are going on in their life, or a fellow Soldier who is having some problems. I am in no way claiming that I have all the answers, but what I do have is knowledge from lessons that I have learned in my life, and things that I have been through. I feel that we all have things to contribute, but we have to realize when the time is right, and for me the time is now.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

It must just be me

So today I became convinced that I am cursed. It seems like every time I go out to collect water samples for work, it ends up raining. Usually it is only enough to be annoying, but today it poured. The curse is getting stronger LOL.
 I got a phone call from my mom last night, and what do ya know, she was asking to borrow money. I will say this, it has been a long time since she has asked. I mean seriously, I am trying to make sure my family is taken care of, an that my bills are paid, and you still call to ask if you can borrow money. Honestly, if I had it, I might have loaned it to her, but she said it was for a hospital bill, which doesn't make sense, since she is covered on my dads insurance. I don't know. And just like always, when she found out I didn't have it, she didn't stay on the phone long. She was saying some weird things, like you only get paid on the 1st and 30th don't you, so you wont have anything this week. What difference does it make when I get paid. Until I am able to support my family, have money left over on payday, have money put aside in savings, and still be able to go out and do things, I don't think I need to be loaning anyone any money. Especially when I'm not sure that I will get it back.
I know that may sound cruel, but I have to go with what I know. They say that we learn our money management skills from our parents, and I believe it. I am just now getting to a point, where I can make sure that bills are paid, and that there is still food on the table. Granted when I was growing up, we never really went without food, but I did have to move twice within one year. I did have the humiliation of being called into the guidance counselors office so they could find out what was going on at my house, because the school got wind that we had no power. I think its because of everything that happened in such a short time that I am trying so hard to make sure things are better for my family than what I had, and what I had to go through. But like with most things, just when things seem to be going good, something comes along, and says STOP!!! not so fast, you must take 2 steps back, and halt your progress for a while.
But that's ok. I know that things are getting better, and that we are doing alot better with somethings then we have in the past. We have a roof over out head, (which still needs to be cleaned, but still LOL), food in our house (even if I do have to shop every payday), a way to get around, gas for said vehicle(s), and aside from a few bumps in the road, we are happy, and on the way to a good life. Now if only the Army would stop trying to interfere with that, I would appreciate it LOL.
Still having a hard time believing that I am going to be 29 in less than a week. I found a birthday ritual that I am going to modify a little bit, and do on my birthday, so go along with my altar. Basically, it is using the fact that its a birthday, and the start of a new year, and a way to renew ourselves, and start looking at changes that we want to make. Specifically, what bad habits do we want to break, and what habits to we want to improve on in the "New Year" Guess I should start working on my list LOL
Until Next Time
Blessed Be

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Updates

So its been a while, I really need to get on the ball about updating and writting more often. So lets see where to begin. Well we finally got the truck to pass inspection. It was close but it was finally quite enough. I am currently waiting to hear from Eastern Illinois University to see if I have been accepted into their Bachelors in General Studies program. I know it sounds kind of lame that its only in general studies, but at this point, all I really need is the degree. I can focus more specifically and get licencsed when it gets closer to time for me to retire. Im actually really excited at the thought that I might be able to get my degree from a college back home, even though I havent lived there in 10 years. Starting to get things together for my birthday. I already have most of everything I need for my birthday altar, and will possibly be doing a bbq or something the weekend before. Check out my Picassa album for some interesting pics that I took in the woods yesterday, provided I can find a way to get them off of my phone.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Creating a Tarot Deck

So since I am trying to motivate myself to finish my Tarot deck, I thought I would post on exactly what steps I took to create mine to give anyone else an idea of where to start if they are interested.
Obviously, the first thing is to deciede what the theme will be of the deck. For mine, it kind of started out as a joke on a forum that I belong to. I thought it would be funny to take the standard Archtypes of the traditional tarot, and put a military spin. And from there, it kind of took on a life of its own.
From there, I began to get ideas for what all of the cards would be. What would fit in enough to the original meaning that it could still be understood for anyone. I then went to finding pictures and determining what I wanted them to look like. I deceided that the Military ACU would be the perfect background, and then put the pictures and text on top of that. Since Im not really a whiz with Photoshop, as well as being too cheap to buy it, I actually used a Power Point type program to lay out the format for all the cards. I then used Paint as well as another editing software, to get the correct format and size to be able to print them out.
I used "Post card" paper to print them on, and them laminated.
There was alot of trial and error involved with getting the correct size to fit. The only problem what remained was rounding the corners and trimming off the excess corners. This was done by hand with a paper cutter and scissors. While they may not be all exactly the same, I feel that is what makes them great and gives them a unique home made feel.
One day, I would like to see about potentially getting them published professionally. To do this I know that I would have to change my pictures, (taken from the internet) as well as have consent. Until then, I am considering possibly selling them privately. I have calculated what it would cost me to print them, and since it is not too expensive, it would be doable, but time consuming.
Hopefully this will help anyone who is thinking about creating their own deck. If there are any questions, please leave them in the comments, and I will answer them
Blessed Be!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Unhappy Anniversery

So today is my 10 year anniversary, and it has not been a very happy day. First we found out that while we were told that the truck was good to go ahead and get registered, we were told that it did in fact fail the inspection due to the exhaust being too loud. Now we have until Friday, to get another 30 day temp registration on it, and hope that the mufflers come in in time to be able to get it fixed, reinspected and registered. On the plus side, we finally got my car. Of course this was after sitting in a STAU for almost 3 hours to get to the place to get it. I did get to drive it back home, and it handles really well on the Autobahn. So luckily, we wont have to spend as much on gas for me to go to work, or when we need to go somewhere, we can just take that instead of the truck. I must say, that of all the anniversaries so far, this has been one of the worst to date.
It got so bad today, that I was just ready to say fuck it and call it quits on the Army. To top it all off, I was supposed to go to Mannheim when I finished getting the car, but by the time we got done it was too late, so that mission didn't get done, I wont be able to go do it tomorrow, because I will probably have to stay local due to having to go do lane validation for this weekend, and even with doing that, I will still probably have to go out this weekend, and maybe even earlier. FML!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

LOOOONG DAY again

This time actually related to work. Got started with a morning meeting, which was fine. And then off to Mannheim to finish out the last inspections for the month (leave it to the Army to wait till the last minute). Had to stop to help out at a couple in Heidelberg on the way back. They turned into failures and the time turned into almost 600 by the time I got home. I know it doesn't seem like its that long, but considering the fact that our "NCOIC" left at like 430 or 500 it was.
For some reason I just feel so drained. Probably cause of everything thats going on with the truck. We ordered the new mufflers today. I'm going to talk to someone tomorrow cause I think that we might still be able to get the permanent tags, based on what I read in the regulation. That is if I interpreted it right. So hopefully that will work out and I wont be stressed out about hoping the parts show up in time. Still got grocery shopping to do, and gas in the truck, but I think for once, I'm not as stressed out about that as I normally would be.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Memorial Day

Today is the day that school kids look foward too, and many parents dread. It is the unofficial start to summer. School is either over, or almost, its a long weekend. There are BBQ's to attend, and friends and family to hang out with. However, as this day draws to a close here in Germany, I just want to point out that today was actually about remembering those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so that we are able to enjoy the long weekend and BBQ. So please remember, not just today, but everyday to take a moment and remember those we have lost. It is for that reason that I post this picture of the memorial I set up today. Its not much, but sometimes, there isnt much that is needed.

Monday, May 16, 2011

No Wiccan Support in Heidelberg

So Ive noticed after looking around that there is no support for Wiccans/ Pagans in the Heidelberg Military Community. I find it hard to believe that I am the only one here. With that being said, I have contacted Circle Sanctuary to see what it takes to to possibly get a group started. While it may be a long shot, at least I will have the information for future knowledge. I know that it may take some work, but if I can make it easier for those of a similar ideology to come together, Ill know that it is worth it.
Do I feel that I have all the right answers to be the "leader" of a group, no, but if I can help facilitate a coming together of the community, maybe there will be someone with more knowledge than me.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Top of Altar

Check out photos of my latest Altar Set Up!

Day 1000 of the move!

So today wasnt too terribly productive when it comes to unpacking. Now getting the house a little more in order is another story. Got the empty boxes moved to the basement (still got plenty to unpack), got some more of the dishes washed, went grocery shopping and STOCKED the cabinets, oh and got my altar set up :-). Along with that, realized that the tarot deck that I brought with me has deceided to make itself invisible. Not liking that too much, guess that means I better start paying more attention to them. Due to the limited space we have in our actual living area, I have repurposed a corner desk that we are not using, and put it in our bedroom. The first thing my husband said after it got put together was "that didnt take long, now it seems like we are on the wrong sides of the bed." LOL The nice thing about it is that there are shelves underneath it so that I can now keep everything together, including my books, which opened up more room on our book case.
We also made a trip to Ramstein AB to check out the PX there. They werent lying, that place is like a damn mall. There is one store that might get me into trouble though, "Egyptian Gifts" Maybe Ill make sure that I leave my debit card in the truck when we go there.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

May 21, 2011 - Judgment Day!; October 21, 2011 - The End of the World

So what does everyone think... are we 9 days away from experiencing the Rapture, and seeing the dead rise? Or are we once again going to wake up to a normal day, just like when he predicted the end of the world in 1994? Ill give him this, he actually did some pretty decent research, and almost (not really lol) makes me want to believe it. I mean seriously, I could read the bible, and have, and must say I could probaly do a better job of predicting this, except for one detail. I have better things to do then twist around the words and meanings of an ancient text to suite my own needs. So whats the verdict? Repent now or plan the weekend party as usual?

May 21, 2011 - Judgment Day!; October 21, 2011 - The End of the World

We are mobile again.

So after having the Government GPS get us lost, and try to take us through a gate that was clearly blocked by a big fence, we made it to the Vehicle Processing Center and got our truck back. It was actually easier to pick it up then to drop it off. Actually took us longer to get there then it did to look everything over and pull out of the lot. We were successful at getting the truck, the fuel card, and enough gas to make it back to Heidelberg. However, as of now we have not been successful in getting a full tank of gas. We went to the ESSO (gas station that NATO works with for rationed gas) and they were out of gas. Then trying to get back home, we got stuck in our first STAU (German for Traffic Jam), due to the Germans thinking its a good idea to work on the road when everyone is getting off work. Hopefully we will be getting me a car this weekend. Nothing too fancy, just something to get me back and forth to work, and to use when we decide to drive downtown. There is NO way the truck is going to fit on some of the little bitty roads around this place.
Now on to witchy matters. LOL. I found an awesome votive set at the PX today. One is a sun and the other is moon and stars. I thought they were cute, and would fit on my altar at some point, and if not they were only a couple of bucks a piece, so they can get used around the house. Ill try to get pictures of them and post them either on here, or in my Picassa album, so keep and eye out if you wanna check them out.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Moving Sucks

So we got all of our HHG delivered on Monday. What is supposed to happen is that the movers are supposed to unpack everything, put everything back together again, and take all the boxes and packing material with them. Like I said, Supposed to. Apparently, I'm not one to do things the easy way, cause that is not what happened. Since we still had our loaner furniture in the house taking up all of the prime real estate for our actual furniture, we pretty much had to up pack and throw things around just to get rid of some of the boxes so we could have room for everything. What a nightmare. It looks like a tornado ripped through my house right now.
Today we finally got the loaner furniture picked up, although they didn't show up until 1130, and were able to get our table, bookcase, as well as both beds put together. We have managed to move some of the empty boxes down to our storage in the basement, until we are done and able to call the movers back to pick them up. There is even a little bit of room for me to be able to lie back and relax on the couch for a little bit tonight. Slowly starting to see where everything is going to go, but can also see that there are allot of things that we need to get rid of. Luckily, we are right close to the re-use center so we will be able to take what we don't need there, and hopefully be able to help someone else out with it.
Im still not sure where all of my witchy goodies are going to go, but I have gathered them all up and put them into a central location to be easily found among the mountain of boxes. I have been so exhausted that I haven't even gotten around to getting a cleansing done. Then again, doesn't seem right to do any kind of cleansing when the house is a mess. The biggest problem I'm running into is with the kitchen. Since everything has been in storage containers for so long, it needs to be washed. Of course only so much will fit into the dish washer at a time, and do to the hard water in Germany, washing them by hand leaves water spots, unless we dry them with a towel. But slowly things are finding a home, and getting put away. I was even able to use my own pots and pans to cook dinner tonight. Has anyone else realized how nice it is to eat off of actual glass plates. We were using plastic for so long that I almost forgot.
So I think that is enough of my rambling for tonight. I should be getting back to work unpacking, but will probably end up going straight to bed, now that I have my nice comfy (all be it old) back. I should be out in no time.
Until next time.. Blessed Be!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Getting settled in

Yes I know that I have not written pretty much since I started this, but hopefully now that I am finally started to get settled into Germany, and the dust is setting on this PCS, that will change. We will finally be getting our HHG (Army speak for personal belongings House Hold Goods), and our vehicle should be here soon.
As far as military housing goes its not bad. They are apartments, but the walls seem to be concrete so we don't really hear our neighbors, except for when they close front doors, or go down the stairs.
Ive noticed that with all of my witchy supplies gone, I have been feeling a little out of sorts. Of course some of that could be the borrowed (Government) furniture that we are using. While it is nice to finally be able to get some things settled in after being in the guest lodge for 21 days, it still doesn't feel quite like home without all of our own furniture.
Haven't really started "working" yet, but I did teach a basic Heat Injury Prevention class for a safety day. Easy stuff, but none the less good to kinda get into it again.
First thing on the agenda for when everything gets here and gets unpacked....House Blessing. Gotta get rid of whatever remnants of energy are left from the previous tenants. Gotta love Military Housing sometimes.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Saturday, January 22, 2011

LOOONG Day

Im going to keep this short and sweet today, cause Im so tired. We had our Company Change of Command and it went pretty good. I am still sore from standing at parade rest for almost 45 minutes. Im really hoping to be able to work done on my cards this weekend. Once I get rolling again, maybe Ill write about the steps I went through to actually create them.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Another Boring Day

So today was another one of those days, when you wonder why you even bother to roll outta bed in the morning, cause you got absolutely nothing done. First, of course, there was PT which wasn't too bad. Then there was the standing for 3 and a half hours for a change of command rehearsal. It wouldn't have been so bad, if we actually practiced a lot, but we only did it 3 times, for a 20 min program. The up side is that I got my request for a deferral turned into retention so that it can get sent up higher. Along with that I got some of the items turned in that I needed to turn in so that I can get out of here when the time comes.
While I have all of the Minors for my Tarot Deck printed out, I have yet to do anything to them. Between work, housework, school work, and the little bit of sleep that I DO get, I just haven't been feeling it, and don't want to have that energy transferred into the cards. I want to make sure that I am in the right mind set physically and emotionally, and recently I have just been feeling drained. Maybe this weekend I can catch up on the house and school work, and Ill feel more up to getting them done.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Introduction

As I begin to get further along on little tarot project, I felt it appropriate to begin writing about it. And I figured why not put it out there for all to see.
First let me being with a little introduction of myself. My name is Jamie and I am 28 years old. If I could only use one word phrases to describe myself, they would be, Mother, Wife, Soldier, Wiccan, Student, Daughter. Yes you read that correctly. I am in the Army, and I am a Wiccan. My son is the most important thing to me, and is just above my husband (maybe tied). They are the reason why I do the things that I do. Yes I am a Soldier and yes I have been deployed (twice). That's all that I would care to discuss about that at this juncture.
So on to how my tarot project came to be. I was looking around one of the many message boards that I frequent, and was looking at all the different themed decks that everyone had. I had kinda jokingly mentioned how it would be funny if there was an Army themed deck. Little did I know that shortly after that, I would get a big slap to the face and the inspiration to work on a write up for what all the decks would be. Next thing I know, I'm actually working on designing cards, and trying to get just the right pictures for them. And now a month and a half later, they are just about done. Some of them have even been printed out. I am actually quiet proud of the way they are turning out. I have had some help and encouragement along the way, and am truly thankful for that. If you get the time, I hope you will take a look at how they are looking so far, and let me know what you think. Check out http://www.picasaweb.google.com/rnaroundsue82
Until next time, Blessed Be
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